The reality of war -- this war, any war

Posted by Reposter on March 28, 2003 at 09:46:52

GENEVA - The war in Iraq will leave more than half a million Iraqi children traumatized badly enough to need psychological help, says the UN Children's Fund representative to Iraq. There are 5.7 million primary school children in Iraq. Carel de Rooy, UNICEF's Iraq representative, said about 10 per cent of them will need psychological help after the war. UNICEF left about 160 Iraqi employees in Baghdad when the UN pulled its international staff out of Iraq on March 17. De Rooy said on Friday an Iraqi colleague's nine-year-old son had to be sedated after becoming hysterical when a missile struck close to his home. De Rooy has remained in neighbouring countries to prepare for an eventual return. UNICEF has often dealt with traumatized children following wars and natural disasters. Its main strategy is to train older children to work with younger kids to help them deal with what has happened.